Where does “earn” come from?
Earn comes from Old English irnan, from Proto-Germanic rinnaną, from Proto-Indo-European h₃er-, ultimately related to the root seh₁- meaning to sow or scatter.
earn (English): To gain through applied effort or work; To...
Definitions
- To gain through applied effort or work; To...
Ancestry of “earn”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | ernen | — |
| 2 | Old English | irnan | Alternative form of rinnan; to run |
| 3 | Old English | rinnan | to run |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *rinnan | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | rinnaną | to run, to rush; to flow |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ér- | — |
Words derived from “earn”